Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Amazon MGM Studios has agreed a deal with the Broccoli family behind James Bond to take over the creative rights of the movies, in a move likely to end speculation over the future direction of the storied spy franchise.
Amazon MGM Studios and Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said on Thursday that they would create a joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights.
Under the terms of the new venture, Amazon MGM Studios will take creative control of the lucrative James Bond franchise for the first time.
Wilson, stepbrother to Barbara Broccoli, said: “With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.”
The Broccoli family have overseen the Bond franchise for more than 60 years, and still held the final decision over key production issues such as casting and director.
In 2022 Amazon acquired MGM for $8.45bn, which brought the rights to distribute all of the James Bond films.
However, the lack of a new Bond movie since 2021 has raised questions about rifts between the partners, amid speculation about differences of opinion over the future direction of the franchise.
There has not been a James Bond film since No Time to Die, the last to star Daniel Craig as the British secret agent. Since then, there has been regular speculation over who will play the next Bond, and how the producers will bring the iconic spy back to life after Craig’s 15-year tenure.
Albert “Cubby” Broccoli oversaw the franchise for decades, producing many of the films before his daughter Barbara and her stepbrother Wilson took control of them, starting with Pierce Brosnan’s Goldeneye. She helped choose actors such as Craig and Brosnan, who have become best known for their starring roles in the franchise.
Rival studio executives have claimed that the producers have had a creative fallout with Amazon over the future direction of the franchise. Since Amazon acquired the right to distribute the films, the only new work has been a reality TV series, 007: Road to a Million.
The deal with the Broccoli family will further rumours that the US tech streamer will seek to create spin-off series to expand the Bond universe. Amazon MGM has used its intellectual property to produce TV series based on other popular franchises such as Lord of the Rings.
Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, told Bloomberg last year that while the business was careful with intellectual property, it also wanted to be creative producing new content with older brands. “So if you’re gonna do things, we think you have to do it with a different angle, a different take,” he said.
Amazon has sought to leverage its film studio and Prime Video service to expand its advertising business and launched an advertising-supported tier on the service last year. Revenue from its advertising division — which includes its ecommerce operation — rose 20 per cent to $56.2bn in 2024.
Financial terms of the Bond deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close before the end of the year.